​Kate Connell Potts is an online international yoga teacher’s teacher and a private yoga teachers’ best friend. She has mentored teachers across the globe, developed a successful online course, and authored the companion book The Art of Teaching Private Yoga. Kate joins the 2018 Midwest Yoga & Oneness Festival as a presenter for two sessions.

Weaving her skill as a professional yoga teacher and her experience in digital design, online marketing and program/course development, she will teach yoga instructors- or any wellness practitioner -the business basics of selling-out their private sessions in the ‘high-tech, high-touch age’. She’ll also present the art of teaching private clients and help teachers learn the ropes, or what she calls the "before, during and after of teaching." (Register for workshops with Kate Connell Potts: How to Create Sold-Out Sessions, and The Art of 1x1 Client Sessions by clicking HERE.)

Kate began exploring the private instructor niche right after graduating from her teacher training program. During her training the concept of private instruction was presented as transformative and profitable so there was no hesitation when the studio she managed closed and she needed to pivot quickly and economically into a new role as a yoga instructor. She positioned herself as an at-home private yoga teacher who helped people establish their personal yoga practice.

While making the transition from group to private instruction may seem easy enough, Kate points out that she learned through her experience establishing herself as a private lesson teacher that one-on-one instruction requires an additional set of tools. “While everyone can invest in the effort to do this work, everyone may not want to. One on one work is inherently more intimate and requires deep listening skills, consistent information gathering - through questions, feedback, and observations, -and a high level of intention to maintain a high degree of professionalism" in the field.

"BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOu" -Kate Connell Potts

Kate reminds us that the options within the private lessons market are endless, so while the work is niche, the message isn’t and that means that a lot of people can capitalize on the impact of one-on-one work. One piece of advice she gives is to be “unapologetically you”. The message she was given in her early years as a yoga professional was to not infuse who you are into the instruction and instead let the yoga be the ‘talent’. Looking back she sees that this advice is contrary to everything she knows about business and branding. “I love to include the message of being unapologetically you into my work because it took me a long time to unwind the limiting beliefs that kept me from reaching my ideal yoga audience because I wasn’t listening to my inner teaching voice.”

There are some clear challenges as well as unique benefits of being a private teacher, according to Kate. Teaching private lessons can be a foundation piece of a yoga business and they can deepen (and often fine tune and speed up) the teachings and care that clients receive. Working individually with clients in long-term engagements and building relationships can be a salve for many teachers who gravitate towards deeper, consistent work, which is an advantage for the right person. Collective energy can be a pro for many teachers and clients alike, and if that’s the case, group dynamics can gain the upper hand. The only other “con” in her view is commitment. "It takes time to build up a private teaching practice and to become the master of your craft but it’s absolutely worth it if it’s your dharma to do this work and if you’re curious at all, I say give it a try!"

Currently, Kate is working on another project and, since the birth of her son in 2016, is still piecing together the mama and professional elements of her life. She’s working on a movement focused on supporting entrepreneurial moms who create in the digital space through online businesses and projects. She describes the project as still in the infant stages but hopes to launch Create Mama sometime in 2018. ​

For more information about Kate Connell Potts, visit her website at www.TheArtOfTeachingPrivateYoga.com.